A New Spin on the Feral Pig Problem
My state of Michigan, is included in one of the States that recently adopted a plan to eradicate feral swine. A part of that plan includes allowing anyone who has a valid Michigan hunting license – of any kind – to shoot and kill these swine. With all the things I’ve heard about feral swine being so destructive, I thought Michigan’s plan was a good one. And while I’m a little skeptical of their destructive capabilities at this point, I was a little shocked at the premise of an article I read in my April edition of American Hunter.
The article focuses on Wisconsin’s feral swine problem – which is identical to Michigan’s; it isn’t really a “problem” yet, but because of a few feral swine that have been located and killed, they have adopted pretty much the same strategy as Michigan: allow any licensed hunter to kill a feral pig on site. Apparently, though, some states – with a known feral pig population, albeit a small one – have outlawed this practice because they feel it promotes the spread of the pig population. Excuse me? Come again? I was a little baffled at that prospect.
They feel, that by allowing hunters to kill these particular pigs, that it encourages people to want to hunt them more, and leads to pigs being transported from other areas, and states, into the particular states that just started to have a “problem”. That is definitely a different take then I had ever heard before. I figured allowing hunters to kill these feral swine would help the problem, not add to it.
I’m sure Phillip and Jeff would be much better experts on this topic, since they have done more than their fair share to help eradicate the swine in California and South Carolina, but for me I was shocked by this premise. If the truth be told I am completely on the fence about this whole thing. I think the eradication plans in these particular states – on the surface – are a good thing. But I also think that maybe there is some truth to the American Hunter article; maybe allowing hunters to kill these wild pigs would only add to the fire, and make people want to have more “hunting” opportunities when it comes to wild pork.
At this point I guess I would like to see some hard evidence that shows how destructive these pigs actually are. I’ve read many different accounts about how fast they reproduce, and how much crop damage and such they can do in a short time, but I have never seen hard evidence to support these facts.
Now my question to all of you – and I hope that Phillip and Jeff weigh in on this with their expertise as well – is this: Do you think the feral swine eradication plans in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as a few other states are needed? Or do you think that by allowing licensed hunters to shoot these swine only encourages people to transport more pigs into the area?
Please let me know what you think in the comments.
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Maybe I’m the last one that should speak my piece because I live in a state that has no feral hogs, but I have been around pigs and know how quick they can mess up the country side. They can turn over an amazing amount of real estate in short order. They would be devastating in any place that they do corragate irrigating. So I have no doubt to their destructive effect on the countryside. Secondly, I cannot imagine anyone catching enough pigs and releasing them in an area just because they want pig hunting closer to home. That would take a considerable effort and if they are going to go through that effort and money to accomplish that (under the threat of getting caught)why wouldn’t they just go hunt them where they are at? It would be cheaper. Pity the states that don’t allow the hunting as these things produce like rabbits. Sounds like anti-hunting propaganda, reasoning.
Well. The only thing I know about pigs is that they taste good after they’ve been butchered and cooked so… I’ll be checking back to see what other people think
Another hunting topic I know nothing about. I don’t even think we have those around where I live.
Hi Arthur,
Your skepticism is well-placed. The “destructive” capabilities of feral hogs are not completely made up, but I do believe they’re being a bit over-inflated. I’ve had the opportunity to hunt some areas that are pretty heavily populated with feral swine (and eurasian wild boar), and I’m just not seeing it. Ground birds such as quail and turkeys appear (to my non-professional eye) to be doing very well. Rooted areas produce fresh growth, the same way a tilled garden does.
I’m sure that in certain, endangered habitats they could be an issue… but in general, I just don’t get it.
Honestly, I believe the hype is maintained by the livestock industry because of the risk of disease transmission from feral hogs to their livestock. It’s a real risk, and the financial damage a single outbreak can cause to the farmer is potentially devastating. This can’t be ignored, but I think it can be mitigated.
As far as the risk of sport hunters transplanting hogs into new areas, it’s a real one… unfortunately. It happens, even where it’s illegal. This is a crime that needs to be treated every bit as seriously as poaching… both by the authorities and by the hunting community.
I like the approach of states like CO. In CO, it is illegal to profit from hunting feral hogs. Anyone can shoot them, but transplanting and/or charging hunt fees (tresspass, guiding, etc.) are against the law.
The pigs will spread by themselves. The seeds are planted and the crop will be coming in for generations to come. I like the approach of states that allow licensed hunters to shoot them on sight, but I think states need to consider creating real management plans… the same as they’ve done for other game animals. You can’t eradicate the things, but you can work to manage them.
[...] of all, over at Simply Outdoors, Arthur is writing a little about the feral pig invasion. I’ve commented from time to time [...]
This is actually a very real threat. In texas alone wild hogs cause over $50 million in damages. They can reproduce at a rate that doubles the herd size in six months. It is a huge problem that is not overblown. It is not made up that people transplant the hogs, in fact that is part of what causes them to spread across the country. Hogs don’t walk a thousand miles to a different state on their own. The discovery chanel has an interesting hour long episode called pig bomb that gives a pretty good overview of the situation.
I live in South Carolina. Needless to say we have our fairshare of wild pigs. Addressing the gentleman’s comment that their damage is like a tilled garden, that may be true on flat land. But here in the mountains of South Carolina, it creates huge erosional problems. And as far as the problem being over stated by the livestock industry, bruecillosis is a very real concern when it comes to wild hogs. Zoonosis is also a very real concern to all of us. Pigs can carry a wide array of disease without being affected. This allows viruses to mutate until they can jump to different species, ie, flu among others. And perhaps we have all forgotten about the spinach ecoli event of a couple of years ago. That was eventually traced to wild pigs in Washington State. There is more than enough solid scientific reseach on this to support any kind of erradication effort.